A/N: I don't want anyone to think that I'm ignoring their reviews, I read all of them and they really make my day. As for all the requests to make it a happy ending, well, you'll just have to wait and see. I have the story all planned out and I think it's a happy ending but it probably won't be what you expect. I can't wash away all the hurt and tragedy that has happened to the characters but they will find some resolution. And that's all I can say without giving it all away. I hope everyone is still along with me for the ride.
And so it continues…
Part 11.This song is Undone by the Guess Who. (Time for a little Canadian content ;) )
She's come undone
She didn't know what she was headed for
And when I found what she was headed for
It was too late
Vaughn used a small laser to cut through the glass window. A moment later he helped Sydney through the hole he had created, before following her through. As he hopped through the window he barely had time to gather his bearings before Sydney was opening the door.
Vaughn managed to note that they were obviously in a professor's office, there was a desk and a chair, and everywhere there were textbooks or journal articles. Sydney didn't waste any time looking around though. Vaughn cursed silently under his breath as he trailed after her.
The hallway was empty but she was already halfway down it before he had his head out the door. He watched her move quickly but silently, placing each foot down and then rolling it around so that she could stop in mid-pace, should the floor creak.
You should give that to her the very next time you see her…The words came unbidden into his head and Vaughn rolled his eyes. This thought had been going through his head since he had gotten up two days ago. "When?" he wanted to scream at himself as he hurried down the hall, double-checking each room and office that he passed before proceeding. But Jack's voice in his head wasn't perturbed by his current activities. You should give that to her the very next time you see her...
Vaughn stopped at the end of the hall and leaned against the wall. Sydney had been kind enough to wait for him there, but she didn't give him any time to catch his breath before proceeding into the stairwell. Subconsciously he put his hand up to his chest pocket where he kept the ring.
You should give that to her the very next time you see her...
- 'When?!' Vaughn mentally screamed inside his head. 'When was I suppose to give it to her?' he demanded from himself. He was tired of the voices battling in his head and he just wished that they would come to some kind of resolution so that he could stop listening to them. 'Should I have given it to her when the first time that I see her in almost a year, she tells me that Sloane kidnapped our daughter? A daughter that I didn't even know existed? Or maybe I should have woken her up from the only peace that she knows to ask her? Or should I have gotten down on one knee after Will woke me up and I went into the living room to find mother and daughter screaming at one another!'
Vaughn almost laughed as he pictured the would-be scene.
"We have to go now! Time is the only advantage that we have and we've got to use it!"
"Sydney we don't even know for sure if they are there! Maybe Sloane wants something completely different and him asking for a particle accelerator was only to throw the US off track! Or maybe it's an even better trap to get Vaughn. Have you thought of that? Maybe they think that holding you hostage wouldn't have provided him enough incentive; you're a big girl, you can take care of yourself. But now, if they hold his daughter hostage…the stakes are suddenly a lot higher."
"Well he doesn't have to go. He can stay here and hide under the couch for all I care. I'm going!"
"Um excuse me Irina, Syd. I realize now is a bad time but honey before you call me a coward and your mom threatens to ground you again, I was just wondering if you would like to spend the rest of your life with me. We could have a nice, small wedding, I could buy you a small house with a picket fence and we could have a nice, normal life together. Well at least until you run off to find our daughter and do something horrible to the man who stole her from you. What do you say?"
Vaughn shook his head to clear the insanity from his head. The voice was temporarily subdued and he was able to follow Sydney down the staircase, into the basement.
She's come undone
She found a mountain that was far too high
And when she found out she couldn't fly
It was too late
Dust was kicked up a little as he opened the door at the bottom of the stairs. He saw Sydney far up ahead in the tunnel before him and he cursed under his breath again. Was she determined to get herself killed? He though madly. He tried to move quickly to catch up with her.
"Sydney!" he shouted in a whispered tone. The tunnel helped carry his voice to her and he cringed as he heard his shout echoed through the hall. She stopped as she heard her name. She even turned back to look at him briefly. But then she turned back and continued hurrying down the tunnel.
You should give that to her the very next time you see her...The voice was back and Vaughn felt like beating his head in frustration.
"When?" he demanded from the voice in his head. "Should I have asked her in the van, on the crazy drive up here?" He remembered how she had spent hours staring out the window. He had watched her every few seconds through the rearview mirror as he drove. Irina had been making one phone call after another, trying to secure them equipment and papers. When they had stopped for gas, Will had gone to buy a map and learned first hand that some Italians were a little touchy about their soccer teams. It seamed that he was developing a bit of a stubborn streak because he had donned one of the t-shirts that he had purchased at the market. His lack of Italian hadn't helped matters. The shopkeeper had thought he was making fun of him. Irina had had to go in and rescue Will.
He had taken the opportunity to get out of the driver seat and go sit with her in the back seat.
"Syd?" he had said quietly but she had been lost in her thoughts. He had reached out and held her hand before she finally turned to him.
"We need to go faster," was all she said.
Should he have delayed their drive by asking her then?
He remembered how she had screamed at her mother when Irina had told him to stop at a restaurant for dinner. Should he have asked her then, between Irina's angry explanations about needing to meet her contact and Sydney's demands that time was more crucial than equipment? Or perhaps he should have asked her after Irina had lost her temper and yelled back that time would be irrelevant if they got arrested crossing the borders.
He shook his head to quiet his thoughts as he saw Sydney continuing to move down the tunnel. He noticed that down the side of the tunnel was a large tube and he wondered if this was part of the particle accelerator. He had no time to ponder though as he forced his feet to move quicker to keep Sydney from disappearing from his view.
He quietly prayed that Will and Irina were making out ok, coming in from the south entrance.
She's come undone
She wanted truth but all she got was lies
Came the time to realize
And it was too late
Vaughn burst open the door that he had seen Sydney disappear into moments before, only to find himself in a small laboratory. The room wasn't much bigger than his kitchen back at home. It had a shelf and cabinet with some chemicals in it and a small table near the center of the room. He looked around quickly and saw Sydney standing in front of a window with her rifle unslung.
There was a look of abject horror on her face.
Vaughn quickly raced to the window and saw that it overlooked another laboratory, only this one was ten times larger. He saw maybe half a dozen people scurrying around, working on various pieces of equipment, but his eyes quickly fell on what had caught Sydney's attention. And then he felt his world shatter as well.
A small baby was lying limp on a table with Sark and Sloane standing around next to it. Vaughn watched with horror as Sark drew some blood from her while Sloane watched. He felt the bottom drop out of his stomach and it was only through shear force of will that he was able to look around the window and find a small switch. He flicked it on and almost flinched as voices filled the room.
"We need at least three cc's of blood." Sloane said to Sark, who nodded.
Vaughn watched the tiny syringe in Sark's hand suddenly filled with blood from his daughter's arm and all at once he felt an incredible need to do violence to the men who had harmed her.
Another man came to take the syringe away and bring it to a machine in the corner.
By some unseen connection with Sydney he managed to catch her fist in mid-air as she aimed it to the window. She turned to him, her face twisted with fury.
"Let me go." She spoke through clenched teeth.
Vaughn stared at her, her fist still clenched in his hand. The look in her eyes made his blood run cold but he held on tight. Intuitively, he knew that there was more at stake then her putting her fist through the window. They stayed locked in their own battle until the scene below them caught their attention.
"I don't think it's working Mr. Sloane." The voice came through the intercom.
She's come undone
She didn't know what she was headed for
And when I found what she was headed for
Mama, it was too late
With Vaughn still gripping her fist, they watched transfixed as Sloane and Sark jumped up and moved towards the equipment that the man had brought the blood sample to. The voices were becoming heated and Sloane slammed his fist into the side of the equipment.
"We need his blood! I knew this wouldn't work." Sloane hissed.
Sark moved calmly around the equipment. "There are two problems here, Sir. The first is that the power source is not connected properly, we're not getting any reading from the accelerator. The second problem does seem to be from her blood. Some of the code is matching up but—"
Vaughn stopped listening as Sydney dropped her hands to her side, her face unreadable to him. He was forced to let go of the hand that he held and without thinking, his eyes were drawn back to his daughter who lay pale and unmoving on the laboratory table.
That was his daughter…He was so intent on the sight of the child that he didn't see Sydney look around the room. He didn't see the expression on her face.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw her move away from the window, towards an open cabinet and take something out. Her actions broke the trance that he had been in and allowed him to concentrate on their present situation.
"What are you doing?" he asked but she didn't respond. He moved away from the window and towards her. "Sydney?"
She didn't respond to him.
With her back towards him, he couldn't see what she was doing. He moved closer and was extending his arm to touch the back of her shoulder when she spun around.
He had been ready for a fight since the moment they left Rome two days ago. The sight of his daughter at the mercy of Sark and Sloane made his blood boil for vengeance. However, the attack he was prepared from was not from Sydney. A solid kick landed on his stomach and as he flew to the ground, he felt the wind getting knocked out of him.
"Syd—"
He didn't get the chance to finish her name before he felt a cloth cover his nose and mouth. You should have given it to her the first time that you saw her…was the last thought that echoed through his head before his world faded to black.
It's too late
She's gone too far
She's lost herself
She's come undone.